By Prasanth Kumar · September 11, 2026 · updated September 12, 2026
If you are buying a phone, laptop, monitor or gaming display, you have probably seen refresh-rate numbers such as 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz and 144Hz. But what do they actually mean, and is a higher refresh rate always better?
This guide explains refresh rate in simple terms, how it affects scrolling and gaming, how it differs from FPS, and what refresh rate makes sense for different devices.
What Is Refresh Rate?
Refresh rate is the number of times a display can update the image every second. It is measured in Hertz (Hz).
- 60Hz: The display refreshes up to 60 times per second.
- 90Hz: Up to 90 refreshes per second.
- 120Hz: Up to 120 refreshes per second.
- 144Hz: Up to 144 refreshes per second.
A higher refresh rate can make motion look smoother, especially when scrolling through websites, moving around the interface, or playing games.
60Hz vs 90Hz
60Hz is still perfectly usable for everyday tasks such as messaging, video streaming and browsing. Moving to 90Hz makes scrolling and animations feel noticeably smoother while usually requiring less power than very high refresh rates.
For budget and mid-range phones, 90Hz can be a good balance between smoothness and battery life.
90Hz vs 120Hz
120Hz can feel smoother than 90Hz, particularly during fast scrolling and supported games. The difference is real, but it is less dramatic than the jump from 60Hz to 120Hz.
Many modern smartphones use adaptive refresh rates, allowing the display to reduce its refresh rate when high refresh rates are not needed. This can help reduce battery consumption.
120Hz vs 144Hz
For normal smartphone use, the difference between 120Hz and 144Hz is relatively small. A 144Hz display is more relevant to gaming monitors and gaming laptops where high frame rates are common.
For competitive PC gaming, a high-refresh-rate monitor can provide smoother motion and lower perceived latency when the computer can actually produce enough frames.
Refresh Rate vs FPS: What Is the Difference?
Refresh rate is a capability of the display, while FPS (frames per second) describes how many frames the device or game is producing.
For example, a 120Hz monitor can display up to 120 refreshes per second, but if a game is only producing 60 FPS, you are not getting 120 unique game frames per second.
For the smoothest experience, the display refresh rate and the frame rate produced by the device should complement each other.
Does a Higher Refresh Rate Use More Battery?
Generally, running a display at a higher refresh rate can consume more power because the display and system may perform more updates. However, the actual battery impact varies by device, display technology, software and whether the device uses an adaptive refresh rate.
Adaptive refresh rate is useful because a phone can use a lower refresh rate for static content and increase it when smooth motion is needed.
What Refresh Rate Should You Choose?
| Device/use case | Recommended refresh rate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Basic phone use | 60Hz–90Hz | Good for everyday browsing and messaging |
| Mid-range smartphone | 90Hz–120Hz | Smoother scrolling without chasing extreme specifications |
| Premium smartphone | 120Hz+ | Excellent for UI, scrolling and supported games |
| Office monitor | 75Hz–120Hz | Smoother motion while working |
| Gaming monitor | 144Hz+ | Useful for fast and competitive games |
Is 120Hz Worth It on a Phone?
For many users, yes. If you spend a lot of time scrolling social media, browsing websites, navigating apps or playing games, 120Hz can make the interface feel smoother.
However, do not choose a phone based only on refresh rate. Display quality, brightness, battery life, processor performance, software optimisation and camera quality can matter more depending on how you use the phone.
What About 165Hz, 240Hz and Higher?
Very high refresh rates are mainly aimed at gaming monitors. The benefit becomes more specialised as refresh rates increase. A 240Hz display can be useful for competitive gaming when the PC can consistently produce very high frame rates, but it offers much less benefit for ordinary web browsing or watching movies.
Does Refresh Rate Improve Video Quality?
Not automatically. Most movies and TV content are produced at frame rates much lower than 120 FPS. A 120Hz screen can still make the user interface and scrolling smoother, but it does not magically turn ordinary video into true 120-FPS content.
Bottom Line
60Hz is usable, 90Hz is smoother, 120Hz is an excellent all-round choice, and 144Hz or higher is especially useful for gaming. The best refresh rate depends on the device, your workload and the frame rates you actually use.
If you are comparing smartphones, laptops or gaming monitors, look at refresh rate together with panel quality, response time, brightness, resolution, adaptive refresh support and battery or power consumption.
Quick FAQ
Is 90Hz better than 60Hz?
Yes. 90Hz can provide smoother scrolling and animations than 60Hz.
Is 120Hz better than 90Hz?
Yes, 120Hz can provide smoother motion, although the difference is smaller than the jump from 60Hz to 120Hz.
Is 120Hz good for gaming?
Yes. It is a strong choice for gaming when the device can produce enough frames to take advantage of it.
Does 120Hz drain battery faster?
It can increase power consumption, but adaptive refresh-rate technology can reduce the impact by lowering the refresh rate when high refresh rates are unnecessary.
Prasanth Kumar is the founder and editor of technew.cloud. He is a technology professional with over 10 years of experience in DevOps, SRE, cloud computing, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD and infrastructure. He writes about smartphones, laptops, graphics cards, gadgets, AI tools, and the technology and products he researches, uses and evaluates. Based in India.
